Solar in San Diego, California
State-level figures below are sourced; city-specific claims carry an in-review label where unverified
San Diego sits on some of the highest residential rates in the state, which shortens payback — and California's NEM 3.0 rules pay exported power at a low rate, so the battery-first design that fits most California homes matters even more here.
- Utility: SDG&E (with SDCP community-choice options)
- State guide: California — export rules, incentives, estimator
- Measured sun (California): {'abbr': 'ca', 'annual': 5.02, 'city': 'Sacramento', 'lat': 38.582, 'lon': -121.494, 'm': [1.83, 3.0, 4.36, 6.08, 7.64, 8.07, 7.92, 6.95, 5.76, 4.19, 2.54, 1.82], 'name': 'California', 'tz': 'America/Los_Angeles'} (source: 2024 solar radiation (GHI, kWh/m2/day) at each state's capital, Open-Meteo archive (ERA5 reanalysis), measured daily sums -> monthly means, fetched 2026-08-08. State-wide average for the capital's site; an exact roof differs (tilt, shade).)
What standing here means
Current SDG&E tariff: in review until we verify a rate sheet. State export rates (~$0.05/kWh) and structures are on the California page.
The honest next step
City-level numbers come from real quotes, not websites: run the California estimator with your actual bill, then score three itemized bids with the quote scorecard.